July 25: Seattle-ite

Why am I posting this list of “You Know You're a True Seattle-ite when...”??? Because a lot of the same things apply to Portland and we've spent enough time in Seattle that we feel qualified to take the quiz. The red ones are the yes answers for us, either here at home or up north. This list originally appeared at seattlepi.com and was copied here (I mention that both to give credit where due and as a disclaimer for spelling and punctuation errors!).

You Know You’re a True Seattle-ite when...

1. You’ve scraped your icy car windows with a credit card.
2. You’ve “shoveled” your driveway with a whisk broom or dust pan.
3. You don’t think twice about wearing Teva sandals, blaze yellow Gortex, rip-stop pants to a nice steakhouse.
4. You don’t go to work for a whole week if there’s 2 inches of snow.
5. You take your dog to play at a special park just for dogs.
6. With all the microbrews around, drinking a Bud is like drinking Folgers.
7. You have a lifetime REI membership.
8. You sometimes frequent outdoor gear stores more than the grocery store.
9. You have tire chains and actually use them to get to your favored outdoor activity even if you “can’t” get to work.
10. You’ve seriously taken a class on avalanches and how to survive them in the backcountry.
11. You know what NIMBY’s are.
12. You ARE a NIMBY.
13. You think Taco Del Mar is pretty good Mexican food.
14. You wanted a piece of the demolished King Dome.
15. You think there should be MORE Starbucks.
16. You think there are too many Starbucks.
17. You have an I.V. line of coffee dripping into your body at all hours.
18. You go to a small concrete/glass enclosure on an annual basis to watch fish desperately swim against the current.
19. You know what “Keep Clam” is from.
20. You think Copper River salmon is WAAAAAY tastier than the rest.
21. You’ve driven to Vancouver, B.C. to shop.
22. You don’t know that driving 60mph is SLOW in most parts of metro America.
23. You stop for pedestrians because you know they don’t even look before stepping into traffic.
24. You’ve visited all major fish ‘n chips restaurants and know which is best for which seafoods.
25. You own at least one of the following: an S.U.V., a Vanagon, or a hybrid.
26. You know which house is Bill’s.
27. You’ve kayaked past “The Sleepless In Seattle” house.
28. You own some weird figurine made out of Mt. [St.] Helen’s ash.
29. You’ve hiked in a lava tube.
30. You’ve eaten a fish taco.
31. You recycle everything possible and think people who don’t are criminally irresponsible.
32. You’ll always like watching the fish throwers at Pike Place.
33. You don’t wear high heels/hose or neckties, pretty much ever.
34. You’ve experienced firsthand the difference between “water-resistant” and “water-proof” clothing.
35. You know Seattle actually gets less annual rainfall than NYC and that summer is amazingly perfect.
36. You don’t tell too many people because than it will get even more crowded here than it already is.
37. You’ve done one of the following: dug for clams, fly fished, or raised a crab pot out of the ocean.
38. You personally know someone who owns a boat.
39. You think people who drink Maxwell House on purpose are out of their minds.
40. You’ve been to the original Starbucks location in Pike Place.
41. You’ve seen Howard there.
42. You think beaches are just fine at 65 degrees with ankle-numbing water.
43. You don’t carry an umbrella.
45. Your kids play in the rain and don’t care.
46. When Mt. Rainier appears on a sunny day, you are always amazed.
47. You have a giant moss carpet outside your house, not a lawn.
48. Your bathroom has black mold somewhere.
49. You don’t iron your clothes.
50. You’ve seen one of the following in your neighborhood: bear, coyote, buck, mountain lion.
51. You’ve tried lutefisk.
52. You don’t need to call a computer specialist for home computer problems because you or someone you know can fix it.
53. You give directions like this: I can’t remember what that road’s called, but it’s just past the hill, after the Shell station. If you start going up another hill, then you’ve passed it. I think there’s some kind of plant nursery across from where you turn, so look for that.
54. You know someone who retired extremely wealthy before turning 40.
55. You don’t listen to the weather forecast anymore - you just stay prepared for whatever weather hits.
56. Your kids play their entire soccer season in the rain.
57. You have flex hours at work.
58. You can’t believe Boeing moved it’s HQ elsewhere.
59. You eat at least one kind of Asian food on a regular basis.
60. You are regularly sobered by the power of Mother Nature, whether that be noticing tsunami escape routes in Ocean Shores, experiencing earthquakes in downtown Seattle, hearing about volcanic activity, or seeing rapid flooding of our local rivers.
61. You do one or more of the following: catch rainwater in rain barrels, compost, and/or use organic pesticides/weed killer.
62. You don’t think it’s strange that there’s a Bavarian village an hour and a half outside Seattle.
63. You can repeat word-for-word what that robotic female intercom voice says on the circle drive outside Sea-Tac Airport.
64. You want to smash that intercom when you’re waiting to pick up someone at the airport.
64. You know the phone number to report carpool lane violators.
65. You’ve been in four completely different weather systems all in one day.
66. You’ve “packed it in and packed it out”.
67. You have at least three friends who are working “contract”.
68. You’ve been in subterranean downtown Seattle via “The Underground Tour”
69. You’ve been on most of the ferry routes and missed ferries by just a few seconds.
70. You’ve had a “Nordie bar”.
71. You’ve had pets in counseling.
72. You expect people to come to complete stops in highway merge lanes.
73. You enjoy having “help out to the car” with your groceries.
74. You’re polite with people but not too personal.
75. You email way more than you phone anyone.
76. You’ve visited The Troll, Lenin, and Hendrix.
77. You’ve driven to the western edge of America on a whim, and it took a really long time to get there.
78. You’ve gone camping on a whim.
79. You own your own tent and about a hundred other camping supplies.
80. You sort of do but sort of don’t “believe” in the existence of the Sasquatch.
81. You’ve seen the Seahawks play in Qwest Field.
82. You’ve seen the majestic beauty of old growth forests.
83. Your family’s taken the tour of Safeco Field and been in the players’ lockerroom (really cool tour).
84. You’ve “met The Man”.
85. You’ve changed clothes in your car for any of the following activities: cycling, skiing, boarding, camping, fishing, hiking.
86. You’ve seen the summer wildflowers at Mount Rainier.
87. You know Baker has the most snow the earliest.
88. You’ve driven up to Whistler to ski or mountain bike.
89. You wonder what would happen at the Canadian border if you admit to transporting homegrown tree fruit.
90. You have Canadian coins in your house or wallet.
91. You’ve considered buying a powerful propane torch to kill weeds in your yard, chemical-free.
92. You’ve bought something really good from Value Village.
93. You’ve seen bald eagles and orca whales in the wild.
94. You know University of Washington is known as “udub”, not “u of w” or “uw”.
95. You know where all the free wireless is.
96. You never have a real tan but you do get badly sunburned at least once every year.
97. You own one of those lamps that simulates sunlight.
98. You’ve eaten aplets or cotlets.
99. You think the recently suggested state slogan, “Say-Wah” is about the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard.
100. You know you’re living in one of the most beautiful parts of the world and you try hard to experience it, appreciate it, and take care of it.


--Jen